Needle loader for sewing machines



May 12, 1931. M. w. HOWARD NEEDLE LOADER FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed Feb. 4. 1950 y'ais direction of the arrows.

Patented May 12, 19,31

,f UNITED gSTATES PATENT ormai:

MERTON W. HOWARD, OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR` TO HOWARD IXEIVELOI-Y MENT COMPANY, 4OIE LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS i NEEDLE LOADER `FOB SEWING- MACHINES Application filed February 4, 1930. Serialll'o. 425,784. I v. f

capableof holding a substantial supply of needles, which is relatively'simple in' construction and may be readily handled and manipulated, whereby the needles may be accurately fed from the magazine into the needle bar whenever a new needle is required, such as for. the replacementof a broken or damaged needle. Y

Other objects of thisinventionwill appear in the following description and'appended claims, reference being had to the accom-` panying drawings forming apart off-thisl specification wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several views. y f y 'Y 1 Fig. l is a fragmentary view of a sewing machine Aillustrating the device of this invention in position with the needle Vbeing fed into theendofthe needle bar.

Fig. 2 is a side velevation of the' needle loader.

. F ig.3` is a top plan view thereof with the l cover swung into open position.

Flg. 4: 1s a front end elevation. g e Fig. 5 1s a sectional view taken substantially on line 5.-5 in Fig'.v 3, looking the direc.-

tion ofthe arrows. n I Y Fig. 6 isa sectional view taken substantially on line 6--6 in Fig. 5, lookinginthe Fig. 7 lis an enlarged detail sectional view showingthe stops for positioning and guiding the leading needle in thefmagazine.

,y Fig. 8 is a ydetail side view ofthe construction shown in Fig. .7. Y u

Before explaining in detail the present invention it is to be understood that the invention is not limited'in its application to the details of construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings, since the invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced'or car-V ried out ,in'various' ways. Alsov it is tovbe understood that vthe `phraseology or termi- 26 is open to nology employed herein is for the purposeoff descriptionkand no t of limitation and it lis not intended to limit the inventionbey'ond the terms of the several claims heretoV appended as considered in view ofthe prior arft and the-requirements thereof. e

vIn the drawing I have illustrateda present preferred' form of the invention, which y is particularly adapted lfor use in 'connection with standard types of-industrial sewing machines. In the present instance 4the overhanging arm of the sewing machine isl indicated at 20. This arm is provided with guides 2l for receiving the verticallyfreciproeating needle bar 22. The lower end of the needle bar is provided with the usual hole or socket 23 into which fits the'shank N of the needle.' Theneedle is'held in position within the socket by means of a'thumbscrew 24.

The needle loader of; the present invention comprises a suitable`casing'25 slotted .in its forward portionto-provi'de a longitudinal raceway or guideway 2630i ,a sizeto receive snugly thecylindricalnheads' or VshanksN of Vthe needles. The raceway4 26l is'of substantial length so asto hold a column'of needles, and the base ory this raceway is closed by means of a baseplate 27i'ormin'g a ledge on which the points of the needles rest` and-are lthereby supported. The top'vof the raceway permit the magazine to be filled y by the operator.

i A Cove 1312115928k iS Pivoted @w29 to the@ `of the Casing and l'sadapted t0 be swung into f open position asshownin Fig.l Sto provide access to the "raceway, thiscover normally being'swung into positionto close the top of the raceway as shown in Fig. `el. The front end of thecover 28 'isformed .withv a guide sleeve 29a`adapted to` fit aroundV the needle bar sofas to position the loader in the V.manner shown in Fig. l in operative position for feeding a needle into the socket 23 of the needle bar. The 'guidesleeve 29ai'is open at itsfrontendto enable it to be fitted 4around the needle bar, and the basecf one side of the sleeve lis Slotted at 296. By par'- tially turningy the loader on the end Aof the needle bar the'end ofthe thumbi`screw24 ywill at its opposite end is pivoted to the upper end of alever 33. The lower end of the lever is pivoted at 34 to the casing. This lever is acted upon by a spring 35.. The spring is bent into U-shape, one end beingv held in position by means of a stud 36 and the opposite end anchored in a notch 37 at the lower end of the lever 33. It is important to note that the notch 37 is located very close to the pivot 34, and yalthough the spring constantly acts under tension to swing the lever 33v forwardly, the movement of the spring is proportionately very small compared with the movement of the upper end of the lever. This construction results in the application of a substantially constant spring pressure against thefollower 30 through the medium of the lever 33 and the link 3l throughout the range of travel of said follower, while at they Ysame time requiring but a minimum movement of the spring 35. f

t Referring'more'particularly to Figs. 7 and 8 it will beseen that the raceway or slot 26 terminates at its forward end in a pair of stops 3,8. The Working faces 38a of these stops are arcuate in shape so as to conform tolthe shape ofthe cylindrical shank of the needle and alsoto properly guide the needle 'as'it is fed vertically out of the raceway into the needle bari These stops 38 therefore positionj the leading needle L in feeding position. Beneath the point of this leading needle the b'ase plate is slotted at 39 to permit vertical 'reciprocation of the feed slide as hereinafter explained. The guides or stops 38 terminate in shoulders 387i underlying the shoulder at the ba of the needle shank (see Fig. 8) so as to support the leading needle in proper position above the slot A39.

` Located ina vertical guide slot 40 at the front of the 'casing is a feed slide 41 capable Ves of reciprocating vertically therein. This slide has a rearwardly'projecting toe 42 vof a. sizeto move freely through the slot 39 and engage the point ofthe leading needle. The

slide 4l atone side thereof has a projecting lug 43 which projects through a vertical slot 44 Vin the side of the casing. This lug is anchored in aslot in the end of a lever 45 located on the .router side lof the casing. This lever at its rear end'is pivoted at46 to the casing and is provided with a projecting `ingerpiece 47 Yby means of whichit may be pressed upwardly with the operators finger :against the jaction of a leaf spring 48.

In the operation of the loading device,

after it hasbeen positioned in the manner n Aabove described and as shown in Fig. l, the "operator presses the operating lever 45 upbar.-

wardly thereby shifting the slide 41 upwardly in the guideway 40. During the upward movement of the slide 4l the toe 42 passes through the slot 39 and engages the point of the leading needle L. As the slide continues upwardly the needle L is carried upwardly into the socket 23 of the needle This movement of the needle is guided accurately by means of the guides 38. lVhen the shank of the needle has been inserted in the socket`23 the clamp screw 24is tightened, and the loading device is then removed from the end of the needle bar. Thereupon the follower 30, acting against the column of needles, forces another needle into position against the stops 38.

I claim: Y 1

l. Aneedle loading vdevice for a sewing machine having a needle bar, comprising a magazine for holding a column of needles.I a

spring pressed follower acting against the columnof needles, a feed member having means engageable beneath the pointy of the leading need-le of the column for shifting the needle intothe needle bar, and means for positioning said device relativev to the needle point of the leading needle and feed the needle vertically into the needle bar.

- 3. VA needle loading device for a sewing machine having a needle bar, comprising a casing having la longitudinal slot to receive a column of needles, a covershiftable into and out of position on the casing to close or open the upper end of said slot, a base for supporting needles on their points in said slot, said y base having an opening beneath the leading needle .of the column, and a feed member 'shiftable through said opening toengage the point of the leading needle and feed the needle vertically into the needle bar.

4. A needle loading device for a sewing machine having a needle bar,`comprisingfa casing having a longitudinal slot to receive a columnfof needles, a cover shiftable into and out of position on the casing to close or open the upper end of said slot, said cover having means to position the vdevice on the end of the needle bar, a base for supporting vneedles on their points'in said slot, said base having an'opening beneath the leading needle of the column, and a vertically movable feed member shiftable through said opening to engage the point of the leading needle and feed the needle vertically into the needle bar. v

'5. A needle loading device for a sewing machine having a needle bar, comprisingv a casing having a longitudinal slot to receive a column of needles, a base for supporting needles on their points in said slot, said base having an opening beneath the leading needle of the column, a vertically movable feed member shiftable through said `opening to engage the point of the leading needle and feed the needle vertically into the needle bar, and means for positioning said casing on the end of the needle bar.

6. A needle loading device for a sewing machine having a needle bar, comprising a casing having a longitudinal slot vto receive a column of needles, a follower in said slot acting against the column'of needles, a lever pivoted at one end to the casing and connected at its opposite end to said follower, and a spring acting against the lever adjacent said ivot.

7 A needle loading device for a sewing machine having a needle bar, comprising a casing having a longitudinal raceway to receive a column of needles, aV follower slidable in said raceway against the rear of the column, a lever having a connection atone end to the follower and pivoted to the casing at its opposite end, a spring acting on said lever,

adjacent said pivote and remote from said connection, and means for successively feeding needles from the forward end of the column into the needle bar. j

8. A needle loading device for a sewing machine having a needle bar, comprising a casing having a longitudinal raceway to receive a column of needles,a follower slidable in said raceway against the rear of the column, a lever having a connection at one end to the follower and pivoted to the casing at its opposite end, a spring acting on said lever adjacent said pivot and remote from said connection, and a reciprocating feed member operable vertically against the point of the leading needle of the column for feeding it vertically into the needle bar. v

9. A. needle loading device for a sewing machine having a needle bar, comprising a casing having a longitudinal raceway to receive a column of needles, a follower slidable in said raceway against the rear of the column, a lever having a connection at one end to the follower and pivoted to the casing at its opposite end, a spring acting on said lever adjacent said pivot and remote from said connection, said casing having a vertical r guideway in front of the column, a feed slide in said guideway having a proj ection'underlying the point of the leading needle of the column, and an operating member for shifting said'slide to cause the projection to feed a needle out of said guideway.

l0. A needle loading device for a sewing machine having a needle bar, comprising a f casing having a longitudinal raceway to receive a column of needles, a follower slidable in said raceway against the rear of the colnection, said casing having a slideway infront of the column, afeed slide in said slide- Y way having a projectionnormally underlying the point of the leading needle of the column, and a manually operable lever pivloted to the casing for operating said slide thereby causing said projection to feed a needle out of the guideway. j

In testimony whereof I allix my signature.

MERTON W. HOWARD.

CII 

